


Full Control

by dylanmacgyver (orphan_account)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Horror, Minor Character Death, Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, POV Third Person Limited, basically just the relationship of them all, it might not be scientifically correct but i'm failing science so, no real relationships, not really a fanfic??, relationships are not the main focus, slight relationships, sorry but there is, taeyong is smart, the dreamies are really small, this is a mess, yes there is death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-05-03 14:12:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14570724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/dylanmacgyver
Summary: He pokes his head out, immediately hit with a cold breeze. It was getting colder out, and he hated that. This was when the members who sleep outside would go frantic, banging on the doors of the house begging to be let in and be warm. He remembers last December when Jungwoo had torn off half the paint on the van just to get Taeyong’s attention. The plan failed anyway, after Jisung and Ten let him sleep in the living room for the winter before kicking him out right when it was bearable to sleep in the front yard again.He doesn’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary, just Jungwoo who had his head in his legs and butt on the pavement. He didn’t have any cameras in the front yard so he heavily relied on his view from across the street, where the van was parked.Right before he was about to close the window, he heard a shout from Jungwoo.“Taeyong!” The younger yelled, keeping his eyes focused with Taeyongs. He regretted opening the window at all, and rushed to close it but another yell from Jungwoo made him hesitate.“Help us, please. There are people missing and we don't know where they went!”





	1. intro i

**Author's Note:**

> y'all i'm sorry this is such a mess please bear with me akdjsk i haven't written in SO long. and don't worry i sort of have a plan for the rest of it! this is just the introduction i guess. it's kind of like a murder mystery and there's not really any relationships within the group, so yeah. hope you enjoy!
> 
> edit: edited a little bit
> 
> ALSO: yes, there are relationships here (two to be exact) but they are purely random and are not the main focus of the story! written in third person limited from Taeyong's POV, if there are any mistakes please dont hesitate to tell me!

The Nct family was one of the last and only remaining residence in the high south of Korea. The plains were hot and the straw grass screamed for a taste of water, something they hadn't had in years. Scalding sun reflected on a broken and beaten down 1967 chevy van, that looked like something Scooby and his friends would take to go out and solve mysteries. Now, in 2018, the van remains unable to be driven and its main purpose is to be used for extra space for their overflowing house. 

The vehicle was claimed by Taeyong a few years back. If he didn’t need fresh air and food to survive, he doesn’t think he would ever leave it. Nobody else would even consider coming close to it, let alone actually come in to greet the young adult. The seats had been removed to make room for Taeyong to sit and sleep comfortably. If he was going to be spending the rest of his life here, the least he could do is make it comfortable. He stuck them, along with the rest of the garbage he removed from the van, in the garage, hoping somebody else could get a good use out of them. 

Instead of decorating the van with stickers and empty boxes of fast food like a normal person would, he had it scattered with tv’s and monitor, so he was able to keep an eye on things at all times. He had a friend back in high school that taught him a lot about computers and hacking, back when he went to school. He could now hack into basically everything local and find out everything that’s going on in a matter of minutes. He had files full of footage he collected. So, every night, he would watch his family through their monitors. It was usually through the microphone and camera on their computers, but he had to find a way to get a hold of the members without a functioning laptop so he had put up his own cameras and the footage filed right back to his laptop. He knew he had struck gold with this van. The amount of amazing connection he got in here from being right across from the power line, and the privacy he got was too good to not be abused.

The surroundings of the van were littered with post it notes, confusing and interesting things that various family members have said. They were words and phrases too special and important to just be shoved into a notebook and never be looked at again because he wrote down everything he heard them say. Despite this seeming creepy, he had a good reason for it. He wasn’t going to turn his back to everyone here and let them have any advantages on him. He was the one who was going to do that to them. Once the day comes, and the time is right, he will find his glorious victory. 

He was superstitious, about everything. In fact, everyone in his family was as well. He always watched his back and made sure to never leave sight of his van, installing alarms and a video camera he can watch from a handheld device to ensure this. Whenever he had to go into the main house, he made sure to stay there no longer than 20 minutes. Just enough time to catch whoever was trying to break into the van before they get far enough to it. His security has been extra secret since 2016, when he saw Jaemin trying to install a camera on his mirror to catch him typing in the code. 

To say the family doesn’t trust each other is an understatement. They were all set of forming alliances, without even knowing the full reason behind it. They all have a mindset that something negative is going to happen, and nobody wants to be on the receiving side of it. Taeyong hasn’t sided with anyone He doesn’t think he ever will. He doesn’t trust anyone enough to share his precious paradise with them, no matter how close they used to be. He will forever ride solo, he thinks it's better that way. All he wanted to do was be happy and enjoy time with his large extended family. In total, the house was a home to 18 teenagers, all from around the world. They were a large family, but they were just happy to be together in one tiny house. The young kids would sleep four to a bunk bed, and the older ones had to either sleep on the floor or find somewhere else to spend the night. With their next door neighbors being miles away, it was usually difficult to leave the area. 

Everything started back in December of 2011


	2. intro ii

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this is just like the second introduction part, just trying to set up the story! hopefully it makes more sense after this? next we'll start the actual story! yay!

Everything started on one day back in December of 2011. Taeyong was only 15 at the time, still growing up and maturing. Their previous family of 19 was lined up to begin the race of the year, which took place every year on October 31, which was also Halloween. They would take it upon themselves to have a race down the large hill at exactly midnight, running in pairs so they wouldn't get lost or left behind.

They usually pick partners based on age, but since it was uneven this year after Chenle joining, Johnny decided to mix it up a little bit. So, Taeyong was paired with Jaemin. 

Everyone was lined up, ready to throw themselves down the hill as fast as they could, hoping to at least get in the top 5 and have the pride of it for the rest of the year. Mark and Haechan had taken the pride last year, and now it's finally time to decide who the new winners of the private bedroom was.

The house only has a few rooms in which it was comfortable to sleep in. The two winners of the year would be the two in the third room, which was the biggest of them all. They would have the pleasure of sleeping comfortably and quietly. Taeyong had never been in there. He would always try so hard, but never make it. This year, he told himself that he could win

Taeil yelled go and in the blink of an eye, everyone began sprinting down the hill. Taeyong isn’t exaggerating when he says it’s a huge hill. It begins nice and grassy but eventually turns into hard and dry old corn stalks near the bottom, making it uncomfortable and painful to speed down it quickly. There was outsides to the stalks, but everyone found a little discomfort more important than taking the long way around. 

Jaemin and Taeyong were moving at record speed. He could no longer see the others, but he knew they couldn’t be in front of him. It was impossible. They were nearing the corn, and Taeyong was preparing for what he was ready for. He quickly pushed Jaemin in front of him so he could be pushing the younger, instead of just relying on him to get dragged along. He didn’t know much farther they had left, all he could hear was the small groaning sounds from Jaemin as he was shoving his way through. 

Then, he heard it. The terrible scream that would haunt the rest of them forever. He thinks they were the only other team to hear it, meaning they must be close to the victim. They stopped running, and started to make their way to the left side, where the yell had been heard.

“Help! Someone!” A voice called out and Taeyong recognized it as Chenle, the newest addition to their family. Jaemin and him followed the voice as closely as they could, and weren’t fazed when the younger came crashing into them, frantic. He was breathing quickly, face red and streaming with tears as he grabbed onto Taeyong without any words and dragged him forward. 

Taeyong could feel Jaemin moving right behind him as they were brought to a place where the stalks were thicker and longer. Taeyong smelled something that made him nauseous, he thought he would pass out after one whiff of it. It only seemed to get worse and worse as they approached and Taeyong wondered if it was the result of whatever Chenle had been screaming about.

After what seemed like hours of running, they came across it. He doesn’t even want to describe how it looked and how it made him feel. It was truly shocking. He remembered hearing Jaemin vomit beside him. He remembered when Mark and Ten arrived, only to run away just as quickly as they had come. He remembered when Jaehyun threw him to the ground in anger, almost accusing Taeyong of doing it himself. Taeyong still looks back to this day in horror, and it will be the only reason their family is broken.

“What do we do?” Chenle had whispered next to him, voice quivering from the sight in front of them. 

“First, you need to tell me what happened.” Taeyong said calmly, attempting to solve the situation and get some answers.

“I don’t know! We got seperated for just a little bit but I swear it wasn’t that long! I went around to look for him, started calling his name but I just found him like this, hyung!” Chenle’s breathing increased, and Taeyong held his shoulders to calm him down. 

“Don’t worry, we will figure this out.” Was the last thing Taeyong had said before collecting everyone and returning the long hike back to their house. 

To this day, he can’t get that sight out of his head. Ji Hansol’s corpse, lying dead on the floor. 

He knew it wasn’t natural, everyone did. It just wasn’t realistic. The body had been stabbed, right in the chest. Aimed so perfectly that it killed the boy in seconds, letting the killer have enough time to escape before Chenle would have caught up with Hansol.

The question that came up the most was how. How was any of this possible? They’d been through years and years of investigation, but nothing made sense. Nobody saw their partners leave, so who did it? The majority just assumes its an outside source, but how? Did somebody watch them, making sure to catch someone when the moment was right? How would anybody else know their yearly tradition? This is why Taeyong doesn’t believe it could be anyone else but one of them. Somebody in this house was the one to kill their family member in such a brutal way. 

And Taeyong was going to be the one to find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone cares my twitter is @binniehyuna and im trash for gugudan and nct!


	3. the beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heres the first chapter!! im not sure if i like how it turned out but here it is! also, updates will be more consistent once school is out, cause i really need to make sure i dont fail before i even think about writing another chapter. oh well, hope you guys like it! idk if ill keep this length or make it longer/shorter but we'll see.

October 26th, 2018

5 am. It was 5 days until the date they all were waiting for

The anniversary of Hansol’s death, and the day where they continue tradition, despite the dreadful atmosphere. It’s the only day of the year that they fully interact and pretend that everything is normal again. They take the same route but this time, there's no pairs. It’s everyone for themselves. There is no prize for the winner, simply relief that it is over as quickly as it could be and they could depart back to solitude. It is hard for members to set aside their fear, so every year it is full of fear and empty words. Nobody used to think much of it, but once technology advanced and eagerness built, Taeyong can sense that others are going to use this day to their advantage as well. 

He has a plan this year. Instead of putting himself out there and having “fun”, he actually wanted to get shit done. If this family feud was to ever be solved, he needed to do it himself. 

There was people he suspected, obviously, but there also was people who he knew were innocent. Jaemin, despite his loss of trust in him, was not it. He was next to him the entire time. Taeyong felt the boy’s body tremble in fear at the sight of the body. He had seen how terrified the young boy was when he caught sight of the crime scene, and he knew Jaemin was eager to solve this too once he caught him trying to sneak inside to see what information the van holds. Still, he has lost all of his trust in Jaemin. 

It’s the same with Chenle. He watched that boy live in terror up to this day. He was Hansol’s partner so naturally, people are going to assume it was him. Many voted that he should be the one to take the punishment, but Taeyong stood up for him. Nobody else was able to witness the panicked cries and screams he had heard that day. They didn’t feel the quiver of his body and the roughness of his breath. They weren’t able to see all of the sleepless nights Chenle had had, just sitting in the dark silence. He knew the boy was terrified of everything, so he kept good watch on him. 

Taeyong’s most likely suspect would be Jaehyun. He remembers his face during the night it happened, it didn’t seem particularly phased at all. He makes sure to mark down a lot on that boy. From what he says, to what he does, to even his facial expressions. The most important fact on him is the box Jaehyun has in the left corner of his room. Whenever he leaves the residence, he always comes back and carefully puts things into it. Jaehyun must know somebody can see him, because he’s always watching his back even while he’s alone in his room

Taeyong does get some sense that the members know he’s watching them, but not exactly who is doing it. There have been many cases when they have shut their laptops before doing something secret that could be perceived as sneaky. That just makes it more suspicious. Taeyong wonders, eager to find a way to put a camera somewhere else in Jaehyun’s room. Or at least find out what’s in that damn box. For all he knows, its a collection of my little pony trading cards and Taeyong was busting a nut for no reason. He doesn’t want to think like that though.

Mark? He was the most secretive of them all. He doesn’t even live at the house most of the time. He was the only one who went to school after this, and probably will be the only one who actually goes somewhere in life. Nobody bothers to ask him where he’s going or who he’s friends with because they just simply do not care. He’s so eager to let the past go that Taeyong can’t help but think if he’s doing all of this because he’s bored all the time or because he’s trying to cover something up. Taeyong has yet to get access into a camera revolving around Mark because he’s never on their wifi and he has no clue how to hack into phones. 

He was determined to solve as much as he could before the rest of them gathered again, so every second was precious time. The past few weeks, he’d been waking up at the crack of dawn just to study, and look around at everyone and their daily actions. He noticed for any changes and anything that didn’t seem like the person at all.

So far, all he found out is that Jeno now has a peanut allergy. Which, he wrote down, because there wasn’t much else he could actually do. It was only the second most important thing marked down on Jeno’s book, right after “Like’s to eat cheetos every night before bed,” which would only be relevant if there had been cheeto stains on the knife.

He knew all of this could be solved with a simple DNA test of the knife, but none of them knew what happened to it. It’s almost like it disappeared out of mid air. They aren’t even sure it was a knife considering how little evidence they have of everything. 

The only thing he was sure of is Hansol is dead and he has no evidence after 7 years. He only ever talked to Chenle and Ten nowadays, but only on emergency occasions. He knows there is others who room together, eat sleep and breathe together, then there is loners like him, who forgot what his voice sounded like. For food, he’ll either eat stale and hard ramen or take out, which he would drive over to the closest neighborhood and request it be left in a random mailbox.

A new message popped up on the nearest screen to him. 5:30. He had spent half an hour laying in bed, contemplating. He quickly woke himself up, before turning on the little battery powered lamp he had installed a little while ago, to bring some light in. He decided if he was going for early mornings, the least he could do was make it visible.

6:30. Nothing. Majority of the house was still asleep. He only had his eye on Johnny who was organizing socks. He must have run out of things to do with his free time, like the rest of them. He marks down “sock organizer,” but after half an hour, he crosses it because he’s not exactly sure what Johnny is doing to his socks. They were mixed up now and if this was a normal day, Taeyong would not think twice about deleting the useless footage. However, these last few days are important. He can’t afford to miss anything. 

7 am. Johnny is tying his socks together. Taeyong doesn’t think he has ever deleted footage quicker than now. Renjun was up now, so her averted his attention to the younger kid as he drank some water from the backyard hose. They didn’t have enough room, so Renjun slept in the flower bed. He doesn’t really mind it. Or, at least Taeyong doesn’t think he does. The camera from outside is too noisy to get a clear sound. All he has is a pixelated black-and-white version placed right under the deck, camouflaged to look like a wasp nest. He remembered the night after he installed it, Renjun had screamed and called for Doyoung, whom had just told him it was old and didn’t have any wasps in it.

That was the first time Taeyong actually felt exposed. When Doyoung looked into the camera, he could almost feel like they were making eye contact with each other. Doyoung knew it was a camera as well. It had taken him less than three days to glare into every oddly shaped object he saw and whisper. “Whoever the hell you are, you’re going to regret this. You’re going to regret all of it.” It was a completely different side of Doyoung, different from the one he knew before. This event really did shape and affect all of them.

It was now gathering time for some of the residence in the household. Of course, Taeyong doesn’t go, but he’s always there to hear it word by word. It was only five of them that go. 8:30 to 9:00 and 4:30 to 5:30 everyday. None of the seven ever missed a meeting. It was mostly the ones who lived outside, desperate to get into the shelter for at least a little while every day. He followed Renjun to the kitchen of his old house and switched to a different screen, one that had audio.

“I’m hungry.” Haechan whined, setting out plates for the rest of them. It was only him and Renjun currently, the others have yet to arrive. 

“I know you are, I am too.” Renjun whispered back, keeping his voice down for some reason. A few moments of silence went by before either of them spoke again. 

“Where are the others?” Renjun wondered, looking around confused. It was only the two of them, and Taeyong checked the time. It was 8:33 am, they were three minutes late. 

“I don't know.” Haechan admitted, “I didn’t see any of them on the way down here. I woke up and Winwin wasn't in the room with me anymore. I thought he just got here early, to prepare.” He looked around a little bit, and noticeably looked confused. “Guess not.”

“I’m going to go look for Lucas.” Renjun said, hurrying to find his partner. Lucas lived on the back porch, Taeyong doesn’t recall seeing him this morning. He quickly switched to the camera of the back deck, and there was nothing there. He sat up in his chair, scooting closer to the window of the van, hoping to catch a glimpse if anything was out there. The windows are tinted brown, from the lack of cleaning and the years of gathering dust. He gives up on trying to see, and forces the windows down. 

He pokes his head out, immediately hit with a cold breeze. It was getting colder out, and he hated that. This was when the members who sleep outside would go frantic, banging on the doors of the house begging to be let in and be warm. He remembers last December when Jungwoo had torn off half the paint on the van just to get Taeyong’s attention. The plan failed anyway, after Jisung and Ten let him sleep in the living room for the winter before kicking him out right when it was bearable to sleep in the front yard again. 

He doesn’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary, just Jungwoo who had his head in his legs and butt on the pavement. He didn’t have any cameras in the front yard so he heavily relied on his view from across the street, where the van was parked. 

Right before he was about to close the window, he heard a shout from Jungwoo. 

“Taeyong!” The younger yelled, keeping his eyes focused with Taeyongs. He regretted opening the window at all, and rushed to close it but another yell from Jungwoo made him hesitate.

“Help us, please. There are people missing and we don't know where they went!” Jungwoo shouted, motioning his hand for Taeyong to come over. “Please help us find them, we don't know what to do.” His eyes looked sad, and tired. 

After a few minutes of debating, Taeyong decided to get out. He opened the door that was on the opposite side of the house, just to avoid any sneaky eyes, and makes sure to lock the door extra tight. As a result of not leaving the van in the past few weeks, his legs quickly cramp up and he stumbles onto the floor. He forgot it takes a while to walk after you haven’t walked in quite a while, and he can hear Jungwoo already running over. 

He rounded the corner, and spotted Taeyong on the floor. “Hyung!” He gasped, and grabbed Taeyong’s forearm. “Are you okay?” He asked, pulling Taeyong to his feet.

“I’m fine.” He replied, shocked at how hoarse his voice sounded from not talking in months.

“Are you sure? You sound sick.” Jungwoo worriedly looked right into Taeyong’s eyes, but he quickly glanced away, feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s nothing.” He added, while hitting his legs to get some feeling into them. “Just tell me what's wrong.” He said without expression, shaking Jungwoo’s arm off of him. 

Jungwoo seemed a little surprised at this action, but he tried to keep his face normal. “I couldn’t find Taeil this morning so I looked around a little bit. I went inside to see if he was already there for the meeting, but he wasn’t. It would have been too early for it. He was gone before I woke up! He never does that. He always waits to at least greet me before leaving for the meeting. Were partners, and he’s missing. Taeyong, I don’t know what to do!” Jungwoo said, frantic. His hands were rubbing his tired eyes, and his breathing became more rapid.

Taeyong nodded, trying to take in the information. He curses himself for not keeping a closer look in the front yard, and doesn’t even imagine how much easier it would have been if there was a camera there as well. He would have been able to go back and watch what had happened throughout the night. 

“Is there anyone else? What do you mean “we”?” Taeyong asked. 

“I talked to Yuta right after I found out. He was searching for Jaemin as well. The same thing happened to him.” Jungwoo replied, and Taeyong felt his heart drop at the mention of the younger he had once been close with. If he were to bond up any relationship, it would be with Jaemin. He seemed more eager to help find the others now. 

Taeyong nodded, and thought for a moment. He would just search the camera in bedroom 2 to find out where Jaemin went. Then, he could assume that's what happened to Taeil as well. 

“Give me an hour, I’ll be back.” Taeyong told Jungwoo before quickly unlocking the door behind his back and slipping back into the van.

“Hyung! No! Wait!” Jungwoo’s voice was cut off by the slamming of the door, and Taeyong heard him banging on the windows. As usual, he ignored it. The windows were only one way sided windows, so all Jungwoo could see was his own reflection. 

He found the camera that was placed in Yuta and Jaemin’s room and selected it to be brought to the main screen. It was just Yuta, laying in bed staring at the ceiling. And traces of Jaemin were nowhere to be found. He tried to reverse the video but it didn’t work. He pressed and pressed, yet no matter what he did, nothing came up. He tried refreshing the software but he could only see Yuta in bed.

Less than thirty seconds later, all of the screens turned black. Taeyong’s eyes widened, this has never happened before. Could it be a power outage? Is the system hacked? There were many possibilities to it that it’s almost impossible to figure out why.

A simple message flashed in bring white letters. “STOP”


	4. the confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taeyong dives more into the mystery, only to be left more confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this is much shorter than i wanted but i wanted to put something out before exams cause ill be really busy!! but ill try to write more this weekend and hopefully form a solid base of the story soon. forgive me for being a shitty author, this one isnt edited yet oops. also, i went back and found a few mistakes in earlier chapters so i fixed those!
> 
> also sorry if i kill off your fav

Doyoung. It had to be Doyoung. He was the only one who knew, right? Taeyong looked around, hoping for at least one screen to work, but had no luck. The message eventually disappeared, and he was once again met with black screens. He tried to turn it off and then on again, even considering restarting the system, but he didn’t want to risk losing everything. He curses himself for not paying closer attention to the movements of the other rooms instead of just watching Johnny. 

“Taeyong!” Jungwoo shouted again, banging on the windows more. Taeyong gave up on trying to find a solution to this and decided to exit, leaving on the right side this time to avoid Jungwoo. 

He glances over to the house. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, just more lichen growing on the sides, but that was normal. It wouldn’t be long until it transformed into one of those eerie houses from a horror movie, not that that’s far off from what it is. 

“Did you find anything?” Jungwoo exclaimed, rushing over to him after finding out that Taeyong had left the van. His breaths were short and quick despite only running a few feet. Taeyong took notice of the drooping eyes and the dried hair Jungwoo had, still with gray tips from when Taeyong noticed he had dyed it. His lips screamed dehydration. He looked even more beat up close. 

“No.” He coldly responded, reverting his attention away from Jungwoo’s face and back to the house. 

“Do you want to go into the house to look?” Jungwoo whispered after a few second of silence, leaning over his shoulder. Taeyong ignored the hot breath on his neck and opted to listen to Jungwoo because of their lack of options. 

“As long as I don’t have to speak to anyone else. I can barely stand this.” Taeyong lied, not willing to tell anyone else how desperate he was for interaction of anysort. His voice finally felt used and wet and he didn’t have to hum to himself to keep his voice alive. His legs could also stretch and get use out of them. All because some strangers went missing.

“Don’t worry, nobody wants to talk anyway.” Jungwoo announced. Taeyong could hear a little pang of sadness in his voice. He remembers Jungwoo to being one of the more friendly and talkative ones. He was always eager to talk and go places with other people. He was also the main voice who was against the split up in the first place, yet his opinion was heavily drowned out by fear and anger. Despite his friendly attitude, he was usually never talked to. Taeyong recalls the hours of footage he’s watched of him and realizes how lonely the boy must be. A personality like that can’t be holding up in the current situation. He decides to let Jungwoo lead, and will encourage him to talk to whoever comes up. 

They eventually made their way to the front door. Taeyong was being finicky about privacy and refused to move too quickly which caused Jungwoo to pull him while Taeyong whined. Jungwoo gave out a little giggle when Taeyong attempted to lunge out of grip which caused Taeyong to be more permissive about being dragged. As long as it made him happy, Taeyong could put up with it. 

Jungwoo gave a small knock to the front door, and eagerly put his arms down while a small little grin rested on his face. Taeyong glanced up at him in confusion.  
“Who’s going to answer?” Taeyong questioned, watching Jungwoo’s face noticeably deflate. The smile disappeared and was once again replaced by a drained expression. 

“Sorry, I got distracted.” He coughed and reached into his pocket for a rusty key. “This is Taeil’s key. He left it before he disappeared. Only three people have them, anyone else who wants to leave has to go out the back door. That's why the cars are parked back there.” He explained, fumbling with the key. 

“So Renjun gets a lot of attention?” Taeyong asked. Even though he knows everything already, he can’t let Jungwoo know that. 

Jungwoo stopped playing with the lock and focused his attention on Taeyong. “What?” He asked, confused. “How did you know Renjun sleeps on the deck.” His face transformed into an accusing and questioning look, probably wondering how Taeyong knew that if he never leaves. 

It’s not the deck. Taeyong said mentally. He tried to keep his face empty of emotion, but wanted to give Jungwoo a proper answer. “I thought everyone knew?” He questioned. 

“Well, yeah.” Jungwoo softened his harsh face, and glanced back at the door to continue his action. “But I didn’t think you knew. None of us did. Frankly, I haven’t talked to some of them in years so I don’t even know if they know who you are anymore.” Taeyong felt his heart drop a little. “Of course, I know who you are. You’re van is right in my direct view. Sometimes I wonder what's in there. Do you think, after all this, you could show me?” Jungwoo kept talking but Taeyong stopped listening. People don’t know who he is? He knows everything about everyone here, yet they might not even recognize his face.

Jungwoo interrupts his thoughts with a cheerful noise. “It’s open!” He pushed the door a little just enough to poke his face through. Taeyong watched his face retreat back to meet eyes with him. “Okay, we can go in.” He grabbed the handle and pushed it open all the way before signaling Taeyong to go in front of him. “You can go in first.”

Taeyong shook his head. “No, you go.” He refused. There could be somebody waiting at the door and he didn’t want to be the first one to enter. 

“Okay.” Jungwoo agreed, taking the first step into the house. He traveled slowly and kept Taeyong within his range the entire time. Taeyong assumed he was just afraid that he would run away. The one thing he does know is Jungwoo doesn’t like to be alone. 

The second he stepped into the house, he felt out of place. He was used to what it looked like but not at this angle. It’s been at least six months since he’s stepped foot in here and he didn’t spend more than five minutes. Everything is exactly in the same place since he was last able to look at the entrance. 

Jungwoo leads them to the dining room where Haechan and Renjun were. They were both sitting at the table in silence. Haechan glanced over at them, and widened his eyes. “Taeyong?” He asked while blinking a few times. “Why are you here? You don’t usually come when it's this close to Halloween.” He said in a confused stance. 

Before Taeyong could answer, Jungwoo butted in, “I found him and thought he could help. He has a good view of the front yard and he seems pretty smart.” Taeyong registered what he said. How did Haechan and Renjun know about this? He watched Renjun from the time he woke up and he never had any interactions with Jungwoo. Not any other days either. He doesn’t remember the last time Renjun and Jungwoo spoke, so why do they seem to know exactly what Jungwoo is talking about?

He couldn’t ask why because that would give everything away. He simply sat there in silence, waiting for somebody else to speak up or say something. Either he is forgetful and unobservant, or his cameras have been tampered with.


	5. the basement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They discover the basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided every chapter is going to be like 1kish words, just so i'm able to update more often cause this took me no more than like 2 hours and I hope its okay! there will be some violence later on, but there isnt much in this chapter. 
> 
> has not been edited, you might find some mistakes. whoops

“Taeyong? Are you listening?” He heard Jungwoo ask, now bringing his attention back to the glares of Haechan and Renjun. Haechan’s expression was tired and Taeyong wondered if he is getting enough sleep. He isn’t sure about anything anymore, after realizing that what he’s been seeing might not actually be what’s happening. Renjun looks more alert. He’s been glaring at Taeyong ever since they walked in. 

“What did you say?” He asked again, forgetting what he’s supposed to be listening for. Jungwoo had been talking to Haechan about something, but him and Renjun were deep into a staring contest. 

“I said, do you have any ideas of where they could be? Anywhere we can check?” Jungwoo asked, bumping Taeyong’s shoulder so he could refocus. He dropped the eye contact with the other, but Renjun continued to send daggers his way. 

“I barely know where the bathroom is.” He says, his mind traveling back to the hole he dug behind the trunk where he does his business in. 

“What about the basement?” Haechan whispered, and everything suddenly got quieter. 

“But nobody goes in the basement.” Jungwoo responded softly, as if it was a sensitive topic.

“Exactly. If somebody’s hiding something, they’re going to use the basement. Unless they traveled miles to elsewhere, which I’m sure someone would have noticed.” Haechan pointed out and Jungwoo nodded his head.

“It makes sense.” Jungwoo stated, then turning to look at Renjun who still had his eyes fixated on Taeyong. “What do you think?” He asked the younger.

“I don’t know.” His voice quivered. “I think we should send Taeyong down there first.” His eyes trailed over to Haechan and Jungwoo. “If something is down there waiting to kill us then it should be Taeyong.”

Taeyong widened his eyes in shock and he felt Jungwoo go stiff next to him. Haechan looked alarmed and glanced over towards Taeyong, who was trying to process what he just heard. “Excuse me?” He asks, trying to keep him temper down. “You want me to get killed?” He holds a fist under the table, his anger slowly rising. 

“Not like you’re useful here, or even worthy of staying. I forget you exist a lot of the time, and I’m sure you do with us as well.” Renjun stood up and leaned over the table to get right in his face. He reached his arms out to grab on to the front of Taeyong’s shirt. “You’d be better off dead!” He breathed into his face. 

Haechan responded by grabbing Renjun and sitting him back into the chair. “Don’t fight. We can’t fight. We need to stay together on this one.” He said calmly, a hand still on Renjun’s thigh. 

“Haechan’s right. We need stay calm because we need each other.” Jungwoo said, once the tense atmosphere had died down a little bit. 

“I certainly don’t need him.” Renjun muttered, but he’s sure that everyone heard him. Taeyong chose to ignore the snide comment.

“I’ll go down first.” He announced, bringing the attention of the three over to him. 

“Really?” Jungwoo asked. 

“Yeah, It’s fine. I’m not scared.” He said bravely, looking over at Renjun to see if he had any reaction. His eyes were fixed on the floor.

“Great,” Haechan smiled. “But be sure to be careful. It's been so long I don't even think the stairs could hold up anymore”

“They’re concrete, it should be fine. Just as long as you have a flashlight or something.” Jungwoo said, looking over to Taeyong. “Do you have anything? I don’t think there’s any in the house.”

Taeyong thought for a moment. Did he? He doesn’t remember needing one for anything. He could live off the lights coming from his screens so he doesn’t remember ever needing another light source. He shakes his head to the other and Jungwoo sighs.

“Maybe the light switch still works down there?” Haechan asked with hope.

“I highly doubt that.” Taeyong mutters. 

“We don’t exactly have many options here, Taeyong.” Renjun butts in sharply. Taeyong is getting the feeling that he doesn’t like him. 

“Okay!” Jungwoo said before Taeyong could respond. “We’re just going to have to rely on light from upstairs. Who knows, maybe there’s a window down there or something.” He said enthusiastically. 

“Hyung, I don’t think you know how windows work.” Haechan said, half whining. 

“It’s okay, we’ll make it work.” He said while standing up, which encouraged everyone else to do the same as well. 

They walked over to the basement door. It was tainted brown and the doorknob was covered in rust. It looked terrible. Taeyong doesn’t know what he just got himself into. He grabs the less-rusty part of the doorknob and slowly twists it open as it lets out a loud squeaky sound. How reassuring. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here watching you.” Jungwoo whispers to him and Taeyong nods. The view of the basement is just old concrete steps, he can’t see much past them. He goes down the first few steps until he’s able to see over the railing to the majority of the basement. It’s pitch black.

“I can’t see anything at all.” He turns around to tell Jungwoo, but he isn’t there anymore. Did he ditch him? Was this all a setup? To lure him into the basement to kill him? Was that how unappreciated he was here. He wanted to run back upstairs, but he was scared the door would be closed at any minute.

“Taeyong!” He hears a voice, and Jungwoo is standing right above him. “Renjun found you a flashlight.” He smiles, and holds it out for Taeyong to go grab it. A wave of comfort drifts over him as he grabs it from him. They didn’t ditch him after all. 

He turns the flashlight on and all he sees is dust. The dust was everywhere. It covered every wall and the air was polluted with it. He was distracted by all the dust in front of him so he forgot to watch where he was putting his feet. He missed the next step by a few inches and ultimately tumbled down the rest of the staircase. 

He landed hard on his back, dropping the flashlight somewhere along the way. His vision was dizzy for a few seconds but it focused enough to the point where he was able to see where he was. Which isn’t much help in pitch black. 

“Taeyong! What happened!” Jungwoo yelled, rushing quickly down the stairs. He felt Jungwoo’s hand on him, pulling him up. 

“I fell, but I lost the flashlight.” Taeyong said, disappointed. It’d be hard to find the flashlight now. He stood up, but Jungwoo was no longer listening. His eyes were focused on something else in the distance. Taeyong looks over and there's a faint light coming from underneath one of the doors. 

“I don’t think we’ll need it.” He says.


	6. the reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They found someone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every time i think about what i should and should not write in this story i just remember that its my story i can do whatever the fuck i want with it.

Taeyong felt Jungwoo’s nails dig into his arms, the boy was trembling with fear. He was nervous too, but he couldn’t show it. Not when Jungwoo was basically peeing his pants right next to him. They took it one step at a time, the light gradually dying out the farther they get from the stairs. 

“Are you guys okay?” Haechan asks from the top of the stairs.

“Yes” Jungwoo whisper shouted back to him. His footsteps got slower the closer they got to the door, Taeyong was half pushing his along a majority of the time. Around them were broken picture frames and cabinets filled with dust. The floor has a thin layer of dust and dirt covering it so he’s able to feel it every step he takes. He was now regretting not putting on shoe earlier.

They approached the door and he felt Jungwoo’s breath on his neck, quivering and moving quickly. He put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him before reaching for the doorknob. His hand brushed over the rusty knob and he thought about the many possibilities of what could be behind the door. Perhaps there’s nothing there, and their efforts and fear were for nothing. Maybe it’s a hole, waiting for them to fall to their death in. Nothing seemed unreasonable at this point. 

He quickly swings the door open, and they’re met with an empty room. “So much for that.” Taeyong mutters, turning to leave but Jungwoo stops him.

“Look around a little, there could be something hiding.” He says, releasing his grip from Taeyong to step into the room. The light was barely visible, it was still very dim inside the room. It was a cracked bulb hanging from the ceiling looking like it’ll fall any second. The rest of the room was empty except for a hallway on the left side.

“Let’s go down here.” Jungwoo said, pointing to the hallway and Taeyong goes to follow him.

He turns the corner, and Jungwoo quickly shouts. “Taeil!” The older boy is lying flat on the floor, handcuffed to himself. He was curled in a ball with his head shoved in between his knees. He wasn’t moving, but nothing else seemed to be noticeably wrong with him. Jungwoo went up and shook him, shouting his name but he didn’t respond.

“I think he’s unconscious.” Jungwoo said, looking on the positive side of things. They had to at least believe that he was still alive. “Somebody must have done this to him. Once he wakes up we can ask him. That might give us a clue as to where the others are.” Jungwoo said looking back at Taeyong. He nodded in agreement and reached out for Taeil. He forced his head out of his legs and brought it eye level. His eyes were closed and there were fresh wounds littering his face, the most noticeable being the large bruise covering his left eye.

Jungwoo’s breath stopped as he reached a hand out to touch Taeil’s face. “Who did this?” He asked, softly. 

“He needs to wake up if we want to find out. Let’s take him upstairs.” Taeyong said, reaching for his arm to pull him up. “Grab the other side,” he told Jungwoo and he followed.

Taeyong was surprised at how heavy Taeil ended up being, he hasn’t actually lifted anything moderately heavy in a very long time, so he was relying on Jungwoo to do a majority of the work.

“This is hard, Taeyong.” Jungwoo whined, barely supporting Taeil’s left shoulder. “I’m not strong enough for this.” 

They both ended up not being able to support him, and Taeil fell to the floor. 

“Maybe we should just drag him.” Jungwoo half suggested, but Taeyong knew he didn’t really mean it. That would just make it feel like he was dead. 

“Did he fall too hard?” Jungwoo aske, bending down to look at the lump. Just then, Taeil’s eyes blinked open and he looked around in confusion. “You’re awake!” Jungwoo exclaimed and Taeil’s eyes focused on him. 

“What the hell happened? Where are we?” He asked, looking around. 

“The basement. Are you okay?” Jungwoo asked, rubbing his hands all over Taeil’s face. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” He replied, wiggling his body. “My face hurts though.” 

“That’s because your face was beaten up.” Taeyong said. 

“By who?” Taeil questioned, focusing on Taeyong but he just gave a shrug in response. 

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t Taeyong. I’m sure of it.” Jungwoo reassured him but Taeil’s eyes were fixed on Taeyong.

“You think it was me?” Taeyong questioned, taken aback. Did everyone in this house hate him? 

“I wouldn’t put it past you.” He snarled, and Jungwoo hurried to cover his mouth before he said anything else. 

“Stop it. Taeyong has been kind and helpful. We’re confused as well.” Jungwoo said to Taeil but the only response he got was an eyeroll. 

A quiet yell was heard from upstairs and Taeyong suddenly remembered about Renjun and Haechan who were waiting for them. He motioned for Jungwoo and Taeil to come upstairs. 

“You found Taeil!” Haechan exclaimed once they had reached the bottom of the stairs. 

“What happened to him?” Renjun asked as Taeil stepped onto the main floor.

“That's the bad part, he doesn’t remember” Jungwoo admitted.

“Well that's just great!” Renjun said sarcastically. 

“If there’s somewhere else we can look, we might be able to find the others. Do you know who else is missing?” Taeyong asked Haechan.

“People are missing?” Taeil questioned. 

“Winwin, I know for sure.” He replied, ignoring Taeil. “Kun too. I don't know who else. Those are only ones who didn’t show up this morning, including Taeil. Whoever it is must be targeting those who come. ”

“What about Johnny?” Taeyong asked. The room fell silent and the rest of them looked at him with concerned eyes. 

Renjun gave a scoff and rolled his eyes. “Told you he’s useless.” He said, looking over to Jungwoo who was silent. 

“You didn’t know? I thought we told everyone.” Haechan said. 

“Know what?” Taeyong asked, confused. 

“Johnny died five months ago.” Taeil whispered.

Taeyong’s eyes widened. He saw Johnny just this morning, he had to still have been in his room. He remembers the exact action, he was tying his socks together like he did at the first of every month. The blue pair went first, then the red pair, then he would make purple with the two, it was a pattern. 

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew.” Jungwoo said sadly, looking down.

“Are you sure he’s actually dead?” Taeyong questioned. 

“I am the one who buried him.” Taeil said. “So I’m quite sure.”

Taeyong put his head in his hands. This was all a lie. He didn’t know what was real anymore. Was his footage really just on an endless loop? For how many people? He cannot believe he never noticed that before. He thought Johnny was just very orderly about how and when he does everything. He didn’t expect him to be dead.

“Has anyone else died?” He asked softly after a few moments of silence. 

“No. Just Johnny.” Taeil replied. The atmosphere was very quiet, almost as if it was a sin to speak. Taeyong felt betrayed. How come nobody told him? Didn’t they care about him? At all?

“Jaemin is missing too.” A voice came from behind them and Taeyong turned around to see Jisung standing in the corridor. Has he been listening to everything?

“How do you know?” Renjun asked. 

“Ten told me. He couldn’t find him when he went upstairs. I was going to tell you guys earlier but you looked busy.” He admitted.

“So that makes it three, minus Taeil.” Taeyong said. He needed to find the rest of them and find out who was doing this. He has a feeling this is connected to the initial murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY ABOUT JOHNNY :((


	7. the annoyance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong gets annoyed and finds some new information

“Do we have a plan?” Haechan asked to nobody in particular. They were all now gathered in the living room on the couches having been joined by Jisung and Ten. Jungwoo was in the process of tending to the injuries on Taeil’s face while the rest of them discussed plans on how to find Winwin and Lucas. 

“Shouldn’t we get the rest of the house down here?” Jisung asked. 

“That’s not necessary” Renjun scoffed, putting his feet onto the coffee table which earned him a slap on the leg from Ten.  
“I agree, they’re not going to be much help.” Taeil agrees.

Taeyong tries to think back to the other members of the house, but his mind is drawing a blank. He just found out that Johnny, someone he just watched this morning, was dead. Despite being told there were no more deaths, Taeyong isn’t convinced that everyone in this house is 100% alive at this moment. He starts to think about Jaehyun, and remembers about the suitcase he was suspicious of. Does that even exist? Is that even Jaehyun’s room?

“We’re out of options then! What else do you want to do?” Haechan challenged, obviously not pleased that things weren’t going his way. “Just sit here and weep? I want to find Winwin and you guys are making it hard to do that.” He said, standing up in anger.

“Chill buddy, chill.” Ten said, moving his hands in down motions so Haechan would sit down. “Believe me, we do to. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t care.” He reassures.

“Speak for yourself.” Renjun grumbles.

“What was that?” Haechan asks, pouncing up again. 

“I’m being logical! There’s a very low chance that they’ll even be alive at this point. We found Taeil like, what, an hour and he wasn’t in the best condition. Who knows what’s happening to the others. They could be hidden or dead. Or both, depend-”

Renjun was cut off by Haechan’s hand shooting into his mouth. “How _dare you!_ You’re a fucking _sadist_! This entire day you have been nothing but negative!” He said angrily, glaring into Renjun’s eyes. “If you don’t want to help, then **leave**. Nobody is keeping you here.” 

Renjun eagerly shoved Haechan off of him, letting him fall into the coffee table, and stomped out of the living room. “Have fun wasting your lives.” He sneered, turning back to look at them before he left the room. 

“It’s been like 10 minutes.” Taeil said. “And I’m ninety percent sure I wouldn’t have died if I was there for longer.”

“It is possible, but we don’t want to risk anything.” Taeyong said. “We should check other places, possibly Jaehyun’s room?” He asked, hoping the others didn’t think he was suspicious of Jaehyun. “It sounds like a good place to start.”

“You don’t even know where that is.” Jisung announced, but Taeyong could tell that he didn’t mean it in a mean way. 

“Well, you guys can show me.” 

“Any objections?” Taeil asked the group and nobody spoke up. “Great. It sounds like a good place to start. Even though I don’t like the idea of suspecting family.” He says, looking down.

“I’m not suspecting him. I just think it’ll be better if we find a place to start and Jaehyun’s room just popped into my mind.” He justified himself, already standing up to go upstairs. 

“Alright.” Taeil said, not convinced. Taeyong forgot how difficult some of their personalities were. 

They each moved upstairs, leaving Jisung and Ten behind to keep watch. Jungwoo was back to being clingy, except he was holding onto Taeil now. Haechan was trailing behind them, now in a bitter mood after his discourse with Renjun. They got to the top of the stairs and Taeyong looked around.

“Which one is Jaehyun’s?” He asked. 

“Second bedroom on the right. He might not be in there though, sometimes he goes out the window and runs around. He doesn’t think that anyone knows about it, but we all know.” Jungwoo said, still wrapped around Taeil.

Taeyong nodded and approached said door. There was no light peeking out, so Taeyong assumed he wasn’t in there. He grabbed the handle and shoved it open. As expected, Jaehyun wasn’t there. The bedroom walls were a light blue and the bed had a pretty comforter covered with little sailboats. Taeyong thought it looked handsewn. 

“Anyone in here?” He asked. No response. He looked on top of the cabinet and found his camera which was disguised as a teddy bear. At least he knew that it was still there. He looked to the side of the door and recognized the suitcase, eager to find out what was in it.

“You’re opening up his suitcase?” Jungwoo asked. “Isn’t that just for traveling?”

“Doesn’t hurt to check.” Taeyong said, already grabbing the zipper. He unzipped it all the way around before dramatically throwing the top off, only to be disappointed. He doesn’t know what he was expecting to find, but it certainly wasn’t a pile of smelly and dirty clothes. The stench filled up the room and made Jungwoo hide behind Taeil whilst covering his nose. So much for being the number one suspect. 

“That smells horrible.” Jungwoo said in a clogged voice, hand pinching his face together in a cone shape. “The only thing he’s guilty of is bad habits. I knew he was stinky but this is gross.” 

“Don’t act like you smell any better.” Taeil teased and Jungwoo gave him a good kick to the shin. 

“Does this mean Jaehyun is out the window?” Taeyong asked, trying to redirect the attention back to the actual purpose of their visit.

“Probably, but what do I know. That window looks like it hasn’t been opened in a while.” Taeil answered. 

“Then where else could he be?” Taeyong asked, looking for slight clues that might tell them where. He remembered Jaehyun spent a lot of time in his closet, but that might just be because he’s picky about what he wears. 

“Oh, he went to get Mark from school.” Jungwoo answered, now perched on Taeil’s back. “He always does that at this time. I saw him leave a little while ago.”

Taeyong felt his annoyance level rise. “You didn’t tell me this?”

“You never asked.” Jungwoo shrugged.

“So how does he get there?” Taeyong asked.

“He just drives there. We have a car parked outside. Him and Winwin are the only ones who know how to drive though.” 

“That would have been helpful to know.” Taeyong grumbled, standing up. “When will they be back?”

“Depends on the day. Sometimes they stop to go shopping and that takes longer. Assuming they didn’t though, it shouldn’t take too long. Seriously Taeyong, how did you not notice him leaving through the back door?” Jungwoo said in a tone that was a little too enjoyable for Taeyong’s taste.

“You’re really starting to annoy me.” He said, looking at Jungwoo right in the eyes. But, he remained unbothered and started touching Taeil’s ears.

“He’s a little needy.” Taeil whispered to Taeyong and he nodded in agreement. 

“So what do we do until then?” Jungwoo asks, now on his feet again after Taeil shook him off. 

“We just wait until they get back.”


	8. the found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong meets someone new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its the weekend ill probably do a chapter a day hA

“Isn’t there like, other places to look?” Haechan finally spoke up. “We don’t exactly have to wait until they come back.”

“I know.” Taeyong said, standing up. “I just want to.”

“But why?” Taeil asked, looking confused again.  
“Because.” Taeyong finished it there and began to walk out of the room. It was his place to make the rules if he wanted, who’s going to stop him? Nobody told them that they had to do what he wanted. 

Taeil just shrugged and followed after him, Jungwoo and Haechan trailing behind. They went back downstairs to meet back up with Jisung and Ten to tell them the disappointing news. He really needs to talk to Jaehyun. He hasn’t spoken a word to the boy in the entire time they’ve lived like this. He wanted to ask what he’s been up to and why he goes out a window if he’s able to leave normally. Is he trying to keep a secret from everyone?

“Nothing?” Ten asked as they approached. 

“Some smelly things.” Jungwoo said, fanning his nose with his hand while making a disgusted face. “But nothing useful. Granted, we did only check one room.” He added. “Personally, I think we should talk to Yuta. If Jaemin is missing too, he might be helpful.”

“You should have said that while we were up there.” Taeyong added. He wants to talk to Yuta now, he hasn’t seen him in a while as well.

“You had your mind set on waiting!” Haechan butted in with a yell, voice cracking at the end of the sentence.

Taeyong sighed. He knew Haechan was right but he didn’t want to admit it. “Then we’ll wait.” He said, crossing his arms. “We’ll check on Yuta later.”

“Fine.” Haechan agreed and folded his arms as well. 

“You know, it might be helpful if we did gather everyone together so we could actually see who is missing and who is here.” Ten butted in. “Because I only know the ones who are active. Everyone else could be missing, we would just never know.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense. It could potentially be only us here.” Taeil said. “And if they’re all beaten up as well, it would be helpful to find them and take care of them.” He reached up to touch his bruised eye. 

“Then we’ll figure that out after. Let’s do this one at a time.” Taeyong said, turning his back to the door to dismiss the conversation. He wanted to do this his way. 

After a few moments of silence, the back door was quietly pushed open. A face popped out and Taeyong identified it as Jaehyun. Once he caught sight of the many people on the couch, he widened his eyes and slowly retreated back outside. 

“Where’d he go?” Taeyong asked, standing up. He walked over to the back door and opened it only to see nothing. He was just here a second ago, where did he go?

“He doesn’t like talking to people. He probably went to go climb in the window.” Ten concluded. 

“What about Mark? Does he climb in the windows too?” 

“Not that I know of.” Ten said, “I don’t know where he is. Did Jaehyun not pick him up?” He said to nobody in particular. 

“I’m going to go check his room.” Taeyong said. He was already making his way over to the stairs, nobody was going to stop him. Nobody else decided to follow him upstairs.  
Once he got up the stairs to Jaehyun’s room, he knocked on the door. He tried to open it but the door was now locked, meaning Jaehyun was now inside. “Open up!” He yelled, banging louder on the door. He was getting frustrated. He doesn’t know why, but Jaehyun pissed him off. 

He paused for a moment to listen to what was going on but there wasn’t any response. “Where’s Mark!” He shouted, not even sure that Jaehyun was still in the room. 

“He’s gone.” A small voice was heard from the room. 

Taeyong quickly stopped knocking and pressed his face to the door. “What?” He said, much softer. 

“I went to go pick him up but he wasn’t there. They said he hadn’t come to school that day even though I sent him off! I watched him walk away! I watched him walk there!” Jaehyun said with a high pitched voice. Taeyong could tell that he was on the verge of breaking down into tears.

“What do you mean?” He asked. 

“I don’t know! I don’t know where he went. I don’t know how to get in touch with him. I don’t know if he’s okay!”

“Can you open the door so we can talk? You tell tell me more about what you know.” Taeyong asked, shaking the doorknob

“No! I can’t! Because like I said, _I don’t know!”_

Taeyong rubbed his face. This wasn’t helping anything. If Mark is missing as well, then that makes it three that they’re sure of, potentially more. Maybe he wasn’t missing after all, and just went to do other things away from home. He’s young, he must have friends and a social life.

“Why didn’t you drive him to school this morning? To ensure that he got there?” Taeyong asked

“Because I never do. He always walks there. It gives him exercise, he says. He likes it though! He never complains. How was I supposed to know he wasn’t going to get there today?” Jaehyun replied.

Taeyong paused for a moment, unable to think of anything to say. He wanted to find out what was going on but nothing seemed to be working out. The people who live in the house know nothing more than he does, how disappointing. 

“Just open the door please.” Taeyong said again.

He was hit with a slight breeze as Jaehyun flung the door open. His eyes were slightly teary and his cheeks were tinted pink. He couldn’t tell if he was upset or angry. “Why do you care?” He accused, “I thought you only cared about yourself while you sat in that stupid van of yours. I barely even recognized your face when I looked in.” He put his hand on his hip. “What's with the sudden interest?”

“Because I care and want to figure out why people are going missing, and why Taeil woke up, beaten up, in a random room in the basement.” 

Jaehyun softened his face and leaned against the door. “Who’s missing?” He asked.

“You don’t know?” Taeyong asked, shocked. He forgot that Jaehyun probably didn’t know because nobody told him. 

“No, I don’t know. Why would I be asking if I already knew?”

“Lucas and Winwin. That’s all we know for sure.” Taeyong said. “We’re trying to figure out who else and find them. That’s why I’m here.”

Jaehyun paused for a moment, and leaned a little closer into Taeyong. “Now, tell me. Are you helping for their benefit, or yours?”


	9. the shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong finds somebody but it isn’t who he expects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating all weekend i was working on a different story oops but IM BACK hello

“Theirs, of course!” Taeyong said in disbelief. Was that even a question. “What would I gain out of it?” He questioned. 

“Exactly, nobody knows. You’re too secretive.” Jaehyun said. “For all I know, you could be the kidnapper.” He folded his arms and wiped away a tear. Taeyong noticed he was still a little upset, probably because of Mark. 

Taeyong softened his expression and looked at Jaehyun right in the eyes. “It’s not me. I can promise you that. You have to believe me if we’re going to work together on this.”  
Jaehyun didn’t looked convinced, but he agreed anyway. “Go check on Yuta. If Jaemin is missing he might know where. They live together.” 

Taeyong shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll know anything. Taeil was missing too and Jungwoo knew nothing about it. We found him unconscious in the basement.”

“Really?” Jaehyun asked and Taeyong nodded. 

“I still think it’s a good idea to talk to Yuta though.” He agreed. 

“Then let's go.” Jaehyun said and pushed his way past Taeyong. He turned the corner to go into the special bedroom. It was large and had its own hallway leading to it. It was the bedroom everyone competed for in the first place and Yuta was lucky to be the first to claim it. He then brought Jaemin in months later and they’ve been living together every since. Or, he thinks they have been. Last time he checked his cameras Yuta was laying in bed but Jaemin was still there. Is this similar to the case with Johnny? Where it’s just repeated footage?

They came across the door and Jaehyun gave it a simple knock. They waited a few seconds to hopefully get a response, but no such luck. “Do you want me to just knock it down?” Jaehyun asked and Taeyong shook his head. If Yuta wasn’t opening up now, somebody barging in isn’t going to make him feel any more comfortable. Taeyong knocked this time, only slightly louder. 

“Hello?” Taeyong said pressing his face to the door. He tried to sound as comforting as possible to prevent Yuta from getting startled. It was very different from how he approached Jaehyun's room. They still got no response. “Is there a key anywhere?” He asked Jaehyun, wanting to open the door in a calmer way then just breaking it down. 

“There should be one, but it’s probably in there with him. It kind of defeats the whole secretive part if anyone can just barge in.” Jaehyun said and Taeyong agreed, he had a point. But this was more important than Yuta’s privacy. Jaemin was missing. 

“What about the window? Can’t you climb those?” Taeyong asked and Jaehyun widened his eyes at him. 

“That’s smart. I could climb in the window then unlock the door for you.” 

“Good idea.” Taeyong said and Jaehyun rushed to go downstairs. “Just tell the others what you’re doing while you’re down there.” He yelled to him as he rushed down the stairs, hoping he heard.

After a few minutes of glaring at the floor, he heard a sound from the other side. “Jaehyun? Are you in there?” He asked, pressing his face to the door. 

“Yeah.” He said as he opened the door. “I don’t see Yuta though.”   
“You don’t?” Taeyong asked, standing up to walk into the door. He looked in the large room but didn’t see him at first glance either. It would take more thorough searching to find him. The far side of the room was covered with garbage, mostly food rappers. Many unopened ramen packets littered the room all over. How did the even make ramen in here? This place is a mess. Taeyong took one step in and was met with a terrible stench. This place was very different from what he’s seen. He knew their place was the messiest but he didn’t know how messy it actually was. He also wasn’t aware of the incredible stench in here, probably because the cameras can’t capture smell. But why has he been seeing something completely different?

“This place is disgusting.” Jaehyun said, covering his nose. “How can anyone live in this condition? At least I keep my room clean. This just looks like they don’t give a shit about hygiene anymore.” 

“I don’t think they do. Let’s just look for Yuta right now, we can talk about how gross it is later.” Taeyong said, making his way over the the opening to the bathroom. He hopes it at least smells better in there. He pulled open the door and was shocked to realize that it was very clean. The walls looked freshly painted and the tiles were a nice white. The shower even looks clean as well. Why are they so keen on keeping the bathroom clean, but don’t care about the rest of the house. 

“Did you find anything?” Jaehyun asked from the main room. 

“No, just a very clean bathroom.” Taeyong shouted back. 

“Clean?” Jaehyun asked, opening the door. He stepped in and looked around in shock. “Damn, why is this so clean compared to the room?” Taeyong shook his head, he doesn’t know why either. “I don’t think he’s in here, unless he’s hiding in one of the closets.”

“Did you check the closets?” Taeyong asked, confused. That would have been the first place he would have checked. 

“Not yet, I was about to though.” 

“I’ll do it.” He said, pushing through Jaehyun to get out of the bathroom. 

He made his way over to the closet by pushing himself through the piles of trash that covered the floor of the room. He couldn’t even imagine a pig living here, let alone an actual human being. He went over to the closet which was on the far side of the bed and gave it a good push open. He was met with another pile of garbage and a mini tv, probably for entertainment.

“Yuta?” He called out, swishing away the plastic rappers to get a good view of the deeper end of the closet. He got no response so his only option was to crawl deeper. He felt like he was surrounded by an endless pile of wrappers until he bumped into something. He felt around and realized it was a body, probably belonging to Yuta. Taeyong grabbed his arms and pulled him forward to get a good look. He noticed that his head was also buried into his legs like Taeil was before so that led him to assume that he was unconscious as well.

“Jaehyun, I found him!” He shouted to Jaehyun who was probably still in the bathroom.

“Really? He was in the closet?” Jaehyun asked as he rushed over to Taeyong. “Why’s his head in his butt?”

“This is how we found Taeil too. I’ll take his head out and see if there’s any bruising.” He said, reaching for the hair. He gave it a good yank and was met with another bruised face, this time he was more confused than before. It certainly wasn’t the person he was expecting to find. 

“Jaemin?”


	10. the horror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong discovers a new member, and might just loose one as well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my lazy and dumbass finally updated sorry its been a while ive been busy with school and a different fanfic and altogether i just not no motivation at all to do anything but here i am!!
> 
> tbh i feel bad that its so short after literally 2 weeks of not updating but my last day of school is tomorrow so ill be more motivated to get shit done hopefully!! thank you for reading my shitty story!!
> 
> yes a lot of the story in general doesnt make sense but lets just pretend that it was meant to be that way
> 
> my twitter is binniehyuna if you care im an intellectual some of the time and can be funny at certain hours

“I thought you said Jaemin was missing.” Jaehyun said. Taeyong sighed and rubbed his hands over his face in annoyance. 

“I did because that’s what I was told. Haechan specifically told me that.”

“What if Haechan is lying.” Jaehyun said. “Have you ever thought about that?”

“I have, yes, but I’m in a position where I have to trust everything I know. I’ve realized that now. If I just question everything I see and hear then I’ll never get anywhere.” He said. He reached out to shake Jaemin, but his eyes still remained closed. “He’s not waking up.” Taeyong said, disappointed. 

“How did Taeil wake up?” Jaehyun asked.

“Jungwoo dropped him.”

“Should we try that again?” Jaehyun suggested. Taeyong shook his head. It might have worked before, but it certainly isn’t the best option. 

“I’ll go downstairs to tell everyone else.” Taeyong said, standing up. 

“Wait, does this mean that Yuta is missing?” Jaehyun asked. 

Taeyong shrugged. “It could, but anything is possible at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if the apocalypse was going on.” He joked, but Jaehyun looked unamused. For all he knows, they could be the last people on earth. Guess that’s one plus of being secluded. 

“I’m going to go down and tell the others.” Taeyong announced, eager to tell everyone else what was going on. They were the ones that claimed Jaemin was missing in the first place. He doesn’t exactly know who came to that conclusion, but it certainly wasn’t correct. 

He goes down the stairs and enters the living room but is shocked to see that it’s now completely empty. Where did everyone go? He checks the kitchen and the hallways but he can’t find anything. He notices that the basement door is open again and pokes his head down to check. 

“Hello?” He yells to the bottom of the staircase. He’s reluctant to go down, but he does it anyway. The steps creaked a familiar creek and Taeyong felt his curiosity grow at every step. He reached far enough down that he was able to see over the staircase into the basement. Nothing seemed out of place, except for that same door. The light was still peeking out from under it like it had earlier, but the door was closed again. Taeyong specifically remembers keeping it open when he was down here with Jungwoo. They have to be in there. 

He takes slow steps, slower than when he had company down here, and faces enough bravery to open the door. His assumption was correct, the rest of the members were in there. They were all sitting down besides Haechan who was slumped in the corner alone.

“Taeyong, you’re here.” Jungwoo says in a quiet voice and Taeyong can tell that the atmosphere seems off. “How did you find us?” He asks. 

“I just assumed since the door was open and you guys were gone.” He answers. “But why? Why are you guys down here?”

Jungwoo and Ten exchanged glances before Ten replied. “You might want to see for yourself.” He whispers, even quieter than Jungwoo. He then motions his head over into the same area where Taeil was found. He steps through where Taeil and Jisung are sitting together, youngest with oldest, and peeks his head around the little corner. He’s shocked at what he sees, but isn’t surprised. He suspected this would happen ever since Renjun stormed off. It’s been proven that it’s important to not be alone in this situation. 

He was stabbed. In the same exact spot Hansol was, if he remembers correctly. He didn’t have the same facial wounds like Taeil and now Jaemin had, so whoever did this wanted to get rid of him quickly. Just like the night that caused this all. His face still looked lifelike and full of color, and Taeyong felt a sense of deja-vu. Was this the killers plan all along? To finish their mission years and years after they started it? Taeyong feels his head start to ache. He wasn’t particularly fond of the young and rude boy but he certainly didn’t want this to happen. Not now, not when he was so close. 

“Holy shit.” Is all he says, being careful and aware of the atmosphere in the basement. They’ve all dealt with death before He leans down to inspect the body, looking for any other wounds that might imply anything else. He doesn’t find anything useful, just the knife which was still stuck in his body. “Did anybody hear anything? Any screaming? Footsteps? Did anybody see anyone else go downstairs?” He asks, thirsty and eager for answers. 

“Nothing.” Taeil says in defeat. “Haechan got eager and wanted to look for him. We all agreed, but we wanted to travel together to avoid anything else going wrong. We started in the basement, because it sounded most logical even though none of us had seen or heard anyone come down here despite not leaving sight of the door. So who, or what, ever killed him is probably camping out in the basement.” He explained.

“That makes a lot of sense, but it’s too quick of an assumption.” Taeyong says. “If someone is able to do this and not get caught then they have to be smart enough to know what most people are going to assume.” He finishes and Taeil slowly nods in understanding, but doesn't respond.

“Fuck this. Fuck all of this.” Haechan blurts out, head still facing the wall. “What the fuck is happening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY i had to advance the story somehow even i was getting bored at this point
> 
> edit: yall i just realized that the actual text is probably shorter than the notes skahfkjlgh
> 
> ill update more frequently though :((


	11. the realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong begins to be more skeptical about everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall i feel like i just keep making it more confusing im sorry

“Fuck this. Fuck all of this.” Haechan blurts out, head still in the wall. “What the fuck is happening.” He turns around, eyes misty with tears. “I want this to end.” His says, voice quivering. Taeyong remembers that morning and Haechan and Renjun were there together, they must have been close. “I want to go home.” He turns around again.

“This is home.” Taeyong says coldly, but he knows what Haechan means. He’s wishing for anything other than this. Somewhere where they were able to live freely and peacefully without the fear of dying or watching one of your family members die. It was tough, Taeyong understood. But there wasn’t any time to sit around and comfort whoever got upset, because they would be here for hours. In that time, who knows how many people could potentially be killed. Renjun’s death was a reminder that they aren’t playing a game here, they are fighting for their life. This makes three of them. Three of them who have died. Taeyong refuses to let that number increase, especially if there’s something he can do to prevent it. 

“What now.” Taeil says after a while of silence. He doesn’t say it like a question, but like a statement. As if he’s given up on even asking at this point, because nobody would have an answer. 

“We just keep looking.” Taeyong says. “There’s many places we haven’t checked. Many people who we haven’t talked to. Haven’t you thought about that?” He asks, but everybody is too busy sulking to listen. His mind drifts back to his cameras, and he suddenly remembers about Doyoung. He was almost certain earlier that he was up to something, but after the disappointments and shocks he’s discovered today, he wouldn’t be surprised if Doyoung had a secret family somewhere else. He remembers hearing Doyoung’s threatening voice so clearly. He wishes he could relate the tone back to the words he saw on his screens earlier, but they only read “STOP” and it’s difficult to track that back to one individual. 

Taeyong’s eyes widened. Could it be that it isn’t just one person, but multiple people? It’s unlikely that one person is smart enough to plan everything and do the kidnapping themselves. Especially in a house full of people. Surely someone would have had to see what was going on?

“We found Jaemin upstairs, but no Yuta.” He says to the group after not getting any responses. Their heads quickly snap to Taeyong after he tells them the news. “You told me the opposite.” He says, crossing his arms and hoping that someone is able to explain the confusion. It’ll just lead to more confusion if nobody is able to make some sense out of this.

“That’s not correct,” Haechan begins, turning around from the wall once again. “Yuta specifically came downstairs earlier to tell me this.” He says in a strict tone, slowly taking steps over to Taeyong. “Maybe you just don’t know what they look like anymore so you got confused?” He said and Taeyong wanted to slap him right there. What the hell is he saying?

“Jaehyun was there too.” He says calmly, trying to not let his inner anger get the best of him. “He knows what everybody looks like just as much as you do. In fact, he’s up there now if you want confirmation.” Taeyong says, matching Haechan’s earlier movements by taking steps to his position. 

Haechan rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond. Taeyong assumed he was just being bitter, which was understandable. If he was in the same position, which, technically, he is, he would be negative too. But to him, solving everything out came before anger and fighting. 

“Can we talk to him?” Jungwoo blurts out.

“Who?” Taeyong asks, momentarily zoning out while he was glaring at Haechan.

“Jaemin.”

“I don’t know if he’s awake yet.” Taeyong admits. He wasn’t awake when he left, and it surely hasn’t been that long. If he’s going to ever wake up it wouldn’t have happened yet.

“You mean he was unconscious?” Taeil asked and Taeyong realized that he left that part out when he was informing them.

“Yes, exactly like you Taeil. Same bruises, except he didn’t wake up after we found him. I don’t know what this could mean.” He admits, disappointed that he wasn’t able to figure it out. He thought he would be able to, but the task is much harder than he expected. 

“Let's go up then and see him.” Taeil says and the rest of them nod in agreement, including Taeyong.

“Then we can go talk to the members we haven’t talked to yet. Like Jeno, I haven’t even heard his name be mentioned the entire time I’ve been in here. It could be helpful to talk to him.” Taeyong said.

“Jeno? You want to talk to Jeno?” Haechan says, snickering. “Good luck with that.”

“What’s wrong with Jeno?” Taeyong asks.

“He’s just a huge asshole. He doesn’t let anyone to even look at his door. And if you talk to him, be ready to get your feelings hurt.”

“That sounds way too suspicious to not check out.” Taeyong said. “Have you ever wondered about what’s behind his door? Like, possibly a stack of knives?” He crosses his arms, disappointed. Nobody thought to tell him about suspicious activity. Haechan rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath in response, but Taeyong couldn’t catch what he was trying to say. “I’d rather have my feelings be a little hurt then watch my family die.” He says but catches Jungwoo’s small smile at the mention of family.

“Alright, let’s go.” Jisung says, speaking up for the first time. “I was waiting for when someone was finally brave enough to speak to him. He always creeped me out. I’m not sure he even eats much besides stealing ramen packets from Yuta’s and Jaemin’s room.” He says. “All we have to do is get in his room somehow, assuming he’s in there.” 

“And if he’s not?” Taeyong asks.

“That just makes things a whole lot easier. Though I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere for awhile.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter is binniehyuna im funny sometimes


	12. the founding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong finds some new artifacts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow me updating this story two days in a row??? a concept. this will be the last update for the weekend probably but since my updates are really short it wont be that long cause i can literally write them pretty quickly if i know what to write about

Ten and Taeil decided to go up with him. Jungwoo, Jisung and Ten would stay downstairs incase anything happened. Jisung suggested it, that it would be safer if there was an even number in both places so nobody was being left alone. He also volunteered to avoid Jeno, which Taeyong understood. He hasn’t talked to him at all over the past seven years so he’s completely unaware of his personality but judging by what others have told him, it’s safe to say that he’s not looking forward to it. But, if it helps give him more ideas and clues, he’s willing to do anything including dealing with a certain rude housemate. Besides, how rude can someone be?

Jaehyun had taken a still unconscious Jaemin downstairs once they reached the top to let the others see him, and hopefully try to make him wake up somehow. 

Taeil darted behind Ten once Taeyong knocked on the door. He could feel Ten’s shaky hands on his back and he didn’t know how to feel about it. What made them so scared that they couldn’t contain themselves?

They got no answer the first time he knocked, so he tried a few more times. When nothing else happened, he decided to start banging on the door. He tried this before with Jaehyun and eventually he was able to make it in there so why not try it again? 

“Jeno!” He says, pressing his face to the door to shout through the crack. He tried to see through the narrow hole, but there must have been something blocking it because it was completely dark, as well as the crack in the bottom of the door. He thought about possibly breaking down the door, but if Jeno’s security is strong enough to make sure the door doesn’t open willingly then there’s a low chance he’ll be able to, considering he isn’t the strongest either.

“Do either of you know if his room has a window?” He turns around to ask the two boys behind him, wondering if Jaehyun would be able to climb up into it through that.

“No clue.” Ten answers. “But if there was, it’s most likely sealed as well. Jeno knows that Jaehyun can climb through windows, so he wouldn’t be stupid enough to make that mistake.” Taeyong sighs in defeat and tries to think of other options into the room. Assuming Jeno is in there, their only option right now is to keep knocking.

Taeyong gives the door a few more pounds before his hand feels like it’ll fall off. He doesn’t necessarily mind though, he’d willingly injure his hand if it meant he could get what he wanted. 

“I don’t think he’s coming.” Taeil said after they’d been waiting for a while. Taeyong nodded in agreement, disappointed. He wished there was another way to get in there. Once they were steps away from the stairs, the door opened. Taeyong whipped his head around to see a figure standing in the doorway of Jeno’s room. It was only open a crack, but Taeyong recognized Jeno’s jet black hair peeking through.

“Fuck off” He grumbled, refusing to open the door any farther. Taeyong began walking toward the door again but Jeno quickly shut it before he had the chance to see him face to face. He kicked the door multiple times, and yelled out of anger. He was almost there, almost able to open the door to see him. 

Jeno opened the door a second time, but this time he was much more harsh about it. The first thing he did was shove Taeyong to the ground and give him a few good kicks to his legs before Ten was able to run over and pull him off. “What do you want! Why are you here!” Jeno yelled, struggling out of the tight grip of Ten and Taeil. Taeyong held onto the wall for support and stood up right in front of him, making them face to face.

“Bring him downstairs.” He ordered the two boys who nodded in agreement despite Jeno’s multiple objections including gnawing on Taeil’s arm. However, Taeyong stayed upstairs. He was too eager to check Jeno’s room to let anything stop him at this point. He shoved the door open the rest of the way, and took in what he saw. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in his opinion. There was a bunch of old books stashed together in an older looking bookshelf but other than that, all he could find was a mattress on the floor and an old laptop sitting on a rusty desk. He walks over to the desk and opens up the laptop, being met with a wave of dust. It had to have been at least a few years since this thing was last used. Despite the outdated appearance, it did turn on which was questionable. He’s used to technology, he knows how it works so for a laptop to be in this condition and still work is unrealistic. He didn’t even find a charger nearby either. 

He walked over the the mattress in the corner of the room after discovering that the laptop needed a passcode. He reminded himself to ask Jeno what it was once he got downstairs. The mattress looked pretty plain, just like a normal mattress. The only thing he found under it was a large stash of ramen rappers and a small post it note that read. “Give 2 yt.” He stuffs the note in his pocket, and moves onto the bookshelf.

The books on it had to have at least an inch worth of dust on top of them. Taeyong slapped the top of them and the entire room became foggy, almost like it was smoke. He coughed a few times before fanning the area in front of him with his hands. He looked through a good majority of the books before finding something that wasn’t just a sappy novel. It was a book, but it had no title or cover. He pulled it out of the shelf to read and was shocked to realize that it wasn’t a book, but it was a mini storage area. In the middle of it was a singular rusted key. Taeyong quickly grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket before looking through the rest of the bookcase, but he didn’t find anything else. 

He walked downstairs after finding it and sees that Jeno was now tied to a chair from the kitchen with some ropes and duct tape. He’s relieved to see that he has noticeably calmed down and is now glaring at the floor in front of him. He also sees that Jaemin has been laid on the couch while Jisung was sitting on the top of the couch looking down, probably to keep an eye on him. Taeyong sat down in a chair directly across from where Jeno was sitting.

“So,” he began. “Where should we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter is binniehyuna!


	13. the realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong begins to piece some things together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this in like 30 minutes uhh 
> 
> i feel like i should make the chapters longer because i tend to finish them pretty quickly and longer wouldnt be too bad but honestly im only able to actually focus and write at like 1 am here and i have to be asleep by 2 so i just decide to update whatever i have at the end of the night to get it out as fast as i can cause theres really no benefit to long chapters tbh
> 
> also ive realized that my writing style is a bit,, weird?? but i mean i enjoy it and it w0rks best f0r me s0
> 
> also if you find any noticable mistakes please uh tell me cause i dont reread because i cringe looking at my writing but i dont want to be boo boo the fool thank you!
> 
> also we got rules now lol not sure how important they'll be to the actual story but we gatta move along somehow!
> 
> and sorry idk why i keep making the dreamies the bad guys

“So,” he began. “Where should we start?” He asked, crossing his arms. Jeno didn’t look up, he kept his eyes fixed on the floor. Taeyong reaches into his pocket to pull out the key. Everyone around his widened their eyes at it. “What does this go to?” He asked.

“That’s the missing house key!” Jungwoo blurted out from across the room. “I’ve been looking everywhere for that. It just suddenly disappeared one day.” He said. It’s just a house key? Taeyong hoped it would be something more. For now, he just had to work with what he had. 

“Can only people with house keys leave?” Taeyong asked.  
“Yes. It’s a rule.” Taeil replied. It made sense, in some ways, but Taeyong was still confused.

“Why is that a rule?” He asked.

“Don’t know. It was established a long time ago by someone, I forgot who. There’s three keys, each are somewhere around the house. If you don’t live outside, you need a key to be able to leave.” Taeil explained. 

“Or else?” Taeyong asked. Why is this the first he’s hearing about this? It seemed pretty essential and important but nobody cared to tell him about it. 

“Nothing. It’s just the honor system. There’s a lot of rules like that. Like, you’re not allowed to eat peanuts inside. They all just developed overtime.” Taeyong stops. Peanut allergy sounds familiar. He could have sworn that someone in this house was allergic to peanuts, he heard it many times over the years. Of course, he’s realized that all his knowledge of everything has been tampered with but it still leads him to wonder. It’s too minor of a detail for it to be even worth covering up. 

“So no one person came up with this?” Taeyong asked.

“Not that I know of.” Taeyong had an urge to go check his cameras but he already knew there wasn’t going to be anything. He doesn’t even think he keeps it from that long ago anyway.

“I’ll be right back.” Taeyong says, standing up. This peanut thing might be important, he needs to know who’s allergic to peanuts here.

“Where are you going?” Jungwoo asks in a soft voice.

“To the van, I’ll be right back.” He doesn’t want to elaborate further on that.

“Wait!” Haechan said once Taeyong had already walked a few steps toward the door. He turned around to Haechan handing him something. “You need the key.” Taeyong raised his eyebrows at the younger. He wanted to say something, but he knew they were just following rules. Once rules are set, obedient people are going to follow them and by Taeyong’s knowledge, Haechan is one of the good ones. 

He smiles and takes the key before exiting the house. By now, it’s very dark out and Taeyong feels exhausted. He doesn’t know what time it is because he was too distracted to check due to his eagerness to understand what was happening. Even so, he didn’t plan on sleeping anytime soon. The breeze left goosebumps on his arms and he’s reminded of what time of year it is. Normally, they would all gather together in just a few short days but Taeyong knows this year will be different. They’re already minus two members and there could easily be more within the next few days. He doesn’t know what people are like behind their closed doors, for all he knows they could be dead as well.  
Whoever the person doing all of this was, they certainly tried their best to keep Taeyong out of it. He earlier came to the further conclusion that anything that was moderately out of the ordinary was removed to keep him out of it. Jungwoo, however, ruined that plan once he yelled out to Taeyong in the middle of the day. If he didn’t stick his head out the window he could still be watching a loop of the now dead Johnny playing with his socks. Have more events similar to this happened, he just never knew? The house always looks so boring and uneventful in his view but it could be the exact opposite. 

He reaches for the door and yanks it open. As expected, the screens are black. However, he has a sense of emptiness in the van. He was just inside a large house for a while, shouldn’t he be feeling cluttered in this small car? He looks around to spot any differences and finally sets his eyes on a large empty spot missing in the middle of his van. His laptop was missing. The laptop that holds everything. It has all his passwords, files, data and most importantly, the access to the monitors. Was this all a prank? How did somebody get in here to take it? He was frustrated to say the least but he couldn’t lose sight of what he came here for. 

There’s a journal shoved in the glove department full of basic information in case something like this ever happened. He pulls it out and flips through the pages looking for a certain two words. Once he was almost through, he found it. One of the only things on Jeno’s page, stuck in there with a simple sticky note. Peanut allergy. He smiled, he got it right. He had a hutch it was the mysterious boy but he wanted to make sure first. This basically just confirms his theory that Jeno was the creator of the rules. He didn’t know how or why just yet, but he would find out that out eventually. Right now, he just needs to question him.

“So was it you?” Taeyong asks after he made his way back inside. The others had positioned themselves to all be facing Jeno as he continues to look down. 

“Are we sure he’s conscious?” Jaehyun asks.

“Yes.” Taeyong replies. He could see his chest moving up and down. “He’s probably just not wanting to answer because it’s something he can’t answer.”

“Makes sense, it’s a rule not to lie.” Taeil butts in. A rule not to lie? He swears he’s heard many lies throughout the day. For example, Yuta is the one missing, not Jaemin. Although, that could have just been a miscommunication. Either way, it’s a dumb rule. 

“Is it also a rule to not kidnap and murder people?” Taeyong asks and Taeil shrinks back in his seat.

“I think that would be a given.” Jungwoo replies, even softer than before.

“You’re right! It would be. But someone in this house isn’t following that.” Taeyong said, his anger slowly rising. He needed Jeno to talk or else he was going to lose his temper. He leans in closer one more time. “I’m going to ask you one more time, was it you who made up the rules?” It seemed like a dumb question, but Taeyong was taking this one step at a time. He wanted to go slow to make sure he didn’t miss anything along the way. 

“No.” He eventually replies. “It wasn’t me. Yes, I am allergic to peanuts but it wasn’t me!”

“Do you know who it is?” Taeyong asks. He 100% doesn’t believe the younger but he needed to go along with it for now.

“Yes, but I can’t tell you.” He says and Taeyong feels like his head is going to blow off. He’s claiming it wasn’t him but refuses to say who it was. 

“Why can’t you tell me?” Taeyong asks

“Because I made a promise and breaking promises against the rules.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on twitter at binniehyuna!
> 
>  
> 
> outtake (just for fun)
> 
> "I promised him I wouldn't tell" Jeno defends.
> 
> "At least we know it's a him." Jungwoo mutters.
> 
> "We're all males." Haechan says.
> 
> "We had a gardener at one point!" Jungwoo says.
> 
> "Who was also male."


	14. the questioning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh i actually have a way i would be able to end the story within the next few chapters and it would make SENSE but i just??????? i want to make it longer but at the same time i want to be DONE ok you feel

“Because I made a promise and breaking promises against the rules.” Taeyong digs his hands into his head. They weren’t getting anywhere with this. He needed to find a way for Jeno to give him actual answers, or nothing would ever happen. 

“Where are the rules posted.” Taeyong asked calmly. He figured it would be best to start with the basics and get that out of the way. He wanted to see what rules were being broken in this house without him knowing. If he knew other people broke simple rules, then they might have broken more rules as well.

“They were taken down a few years ago. I know who, but I didn’t see him do it.” Jeno said.

“But you know for sure that it was that person? Was is the same person who you refuse to name?” Taeyong asks, wishing he could write this down somewhere.

“Yes. Well, at least I think so. He never actually told me. I just kind of assumed it was him.”

“So you’re not sure?” 

“I guess.” Jeno shrugs. “I like to think I’m right though.” Taeyong heard Haechan scoff from somewhere around them. 

Taeyong decided to change the topic. There wasn’t a way around this and he didn’t have much patience left “Why are you the only one that knows who it is.”

“Because I caught him doing it. He told me to stay secret and I obeyed him. The rules were posted on the fridge one morning. We all just adapted to them.” Jeno replies easily and Taeyong can’t help but to feel like this was all one big lie. Nothing added up and if Jeno refuses to tell him the persons name, Taeyong is going to assume that it’s Jeno himself.

“Then why do you break so many rules?” Taeyong tested. 

“I don’t! I don’t break any! You don’t even know what they are!” Jeno fired back quickly, moving the chair around as he bounced up and down. 

“What are the rules then, go on. Tell me.” Taeyong says while crossing his arms. Jeno didn’t reply. Instead, he just made direct eye contact with Taeyong for at least a good minute before Taeyong ran his hands through his hair. “If you don’t tell me, it’s going to make me and everyone else believe it was you.” He says but Jeno doesn’t react.

“I don’t really care about what anyone else thinks. Nothing will happen to me.” He says but Taeyong can't help feeling like something will. He didn’t want to let Jeno go in case something did, but at the same time he wanted to find out if Jeno would end up like Renjun. He knew better than that, though. The mission was to save people, not sacrifice them. 

“Can I leave now?” Jeno said and Taeyong shook his head. 

“You’re going to stay tied to that chair.” He says. 

“Why do only I have to? Nobody else is.” Jeno whined and shook his feet. Taeyong could tell he was getting impatient.

“I don’t trust you yet.” Taeyong says. “The things you’re saying are very skeptical.”

“Well who made you leader.” He heard Jeno mumble but there were no further protests from him. Taeyong decided to shoo everyone into the dining room so they weren’t talking right in front of Jeno. He wanted him to be able to hear, but didn’t want him to be apart of the conversation. They all pulled out chairs and sat in the dining room. This was the same spot Taeyong saw Haechan and Renjun sitting in once he first walked into the house. 

“We should continue tomorrow.” He said to everyone. “It’s really late and I’m sure we’re all very tired. It’s been a long day. However, I want everyone to sleep in the living room. It will be uncomfortable but it’s better than being apart and risking more.” He said, hoping everyone agreed with him and wouldn’t try to argue. He knew this would be better, as long as they were careful and not heavy sleepers, in case something happened.

“What if Jaemin wakes up in the middle of the night?” Haechan askes. Taeyong suddenly remembers about the boy who is hopefully still on the couch in the living room. 

“Then he wakes up. I don’t really know what to say about that.” He says. What was he supposed to say? He hasn’t thought that far ahead of any of this. He just wants to go to be alone in his van for a few hours while everyone else slept so he could get a good grasp on everything that was going on.   
“Will you be sleeping with us?” Jungwoo asked with a happy smile. 

Taeyong shook his head. “I’ll be in the van again. It’s safe in there.” He says but gets disapproving faces from the rest of the table.

“You’ll be out there because it’s safer?” Haechan says, crossing his arms. “So you don’t care about what happens to the rest of us?” 

“That’s not it.” He says before Haechan gets even more angry. “I have a lot of.” He pauses. “Useful information out there that I would like to look at. I won’t be sleeping, I don’t need to.” He justifies himself, hoping everyone doesn’t take this as a bad thing. Sometimes he’d just rather be alone, and he’s been with people basically the entire day.

He dismissed everybody and made sure they were all comfortable in the living room somewhere, including moving Jaemin off of the couch and onto the floor so Jungwoo could have the couch. He untied Jeno, unwillingly, but told the others to keep a close eye on them but he doesn’t think any of them really cared. They were too busy trying to fall asleep, Haechan even told Taeyong to turn the light off on his way out. 

He was now sitting in the middle of his van, the same position he was earlier. He was still wondering about who might have stolen his laptop and how they did it as well. His security on this van was pretty solid, how could someone have gotten in without the passcode? Some must have seen him type it in somewhere, or known what it was beforehand, but who? He went through the possible suspects, but there was too many to remember. He hadn’t written down anything throughout the entire day, but he was quick to write down everything he knew and experienced today in his journal with the date marked at the top to the very last detail. 

He didn’t want to fall asleep, but he did everything he could do for tonight. Sleep would make him more alert and ready for tomorrow, so he set his alarm to 5 am and layed down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twt: binniehyuna


	15. the defeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taeyong listens to what Jungwoo has to say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it has been a while :(( i am SO sorry but ive just been extremely busy and stressed that honestly writing was the last thing on my mind. I tried to squeeze this out as soon as i could but i cant guarantee another update anytime soon :(( i will try, i promise. thank you to anybody who is reading still! i really appreciate you guys <33
> 
> yes this is REAL short for it being like 3 weeks late but!! im really sorry :(( ill try to update soon again
> 
>  
> 
> tbh i feel bad with leaving yall with an uneventful chapter hnnng maybe ill actually get somewhere with this story one day

He was awoken by a tapping coming from outside but it didn’t register into his brain until minutes after it began, so the tapping was just becoming louder and louder. It was close to a loud bang when Taeyong finally decided to crack the window down to see who was making the loud noise. It turned out to be Jungwoo, again, and for a minute Taeyong hoped the entire last day was just a dream,

“Are you ready to wake up now?” He says and crushes any hopes Taeyong had. He rubbed his face fiercy and looked over to the one clock he had in the front of the van. 7 am. What the hell? He doesn’t usually sleep this late. Maybe it’s because his alarm is missing, along with his laptop. “Come on Taeyong! We’re waiting!” Jungwoo says, pushing his face into the window. 

Taeyong rolled his eyes and tapped the window where Jungwoo was. They could wait until he’s fully awake. He looked around at the van, suddenly feeling very out of place in here. He’d only been away for a day, but it felt so much longer than that. If he never came back to this van, he doesn’t think he would ever miss it. If only he came out earlier, and not when something bad was going on with everyone. Despite the amount of stress he’s under, he’s surprisingly calm. He’s responsible for being a leader in this and to not only worry about himself. If his laptop had gone missing just yesterday, he would be making more of a deal out of it. After realizing everything was a lie, is there really any point?

He looked at the calendar on the top of the van, stuck on there for convenience. There was four more days left until October 31st, but did any of that really matter anymore? They had already all met with each other, so there was no point in meeting again. He wished they could have all 18 of them gather together, but at this point there was only 16 left. In the remaining days leading up to it, they could lose even more. Taeyong shuttered at that thought. He hated the idea of anybody else dying, if there was something he could do to stop it. 

“Taeyong!” Jungwoo says again, tapping a little harder. “Come on out!” At this point, he wishes he invested in curtains. The younger was starting to get on his nerves for the second morning in a row. He sighed, and decided to get out the other way. Jungwoo couldn’t see him anyway. He felt another nice breeze, happy to finally get some more fresh air. 

“I’m over here, Jungwoo.” He says and instantly hears Jungwoo run over to him. 

“I’m glad you decided to wake up!” He smiles.

“Yeah yeah.” Taeyong grumbles in response. He’s tired and not particularly in the mood to deal with Jungwoo right now. “Let’s go inside with the others now. Is Jaemin awake?” He asks but Jungwoo’s smile disappears. 

“No. Hyung, we think he might have died.” He says, facing his head down to fixate his gaze on the dying grass. 

“What? That’s unrealistic. Give him some more time, he’ll wake up.” He responded, but Jungwoo didn’t looked convinced. 

“Do you think that because we found him later in the day that.” He paused to take a breath. “He died because of that? I don’t know how it works, but the longer someone is knocked out they could be more susceptible to death in a way, and maybe the impact of the wounds altogether. Also, we don’t even know if there’s anything else wrong with him besides his face. Nobody-”

“I think you’re getting a little too ahead of yourself.” Taeyong said, trying to calm Jungwoo down. Worrying and getting worked up wasn’t going to help them in anyway. 

“Wait, this part actually makes sense.” He said.

“Okay, I’m listening.” Taeyong responded. He was essentially listening to everything Jungwoo said, but it was good to give him reassurance. 

“Nobody checked his body.”

“What does that mean?”

“Like, for other injuries. What if his whole entire body is bleeding out on the inside but we never knew because nobody checked his stomach for bruises?” He said. 

Taeyong thought about it for a second. In a way, Jungwoo was right, they did never check around on Jaemin. He just assumed the same thing happened with Taeil and he would just wake up in some minor discomfort. “That’s very logical, but even in that case there was nothing we could have done. Finding out about it earlier wouldn’t have many any existing injuries disappear.” 

“I know. But it’s always nice to know the reason behind it. Wouldn’t you like to know the reason behind a family members death?” Jungwoo said. 

If he’s going to be honest, Taeyong didn’t think much about Jaemin dying, but more so thought about the cause and why he would be dying. He was curious and wanted to stop the source behind it, but he didn’t care too much about Jaemin himself. Jungwoo brought up family and of course Taeyong would be hurt if a family member died but it didn’t quite register into his brain that Jaemin was a family member. 

“Let’s go inside, we can check on Jaemin and the rest there.” He instructed Jungwoo and began walking toward the house. His legs were sore from all the walking around he did yesterday, but he would have to put up with them for today. 

“Taeyong is awake.” Jungwoo said as they entered the house. Everybody was gathered around the same table Taeyong had sat down at when he walked in yesterday. Everything is happening in the same exact way it did yesterday, Taeyong didn’t like that. He didn’t want a repeat of yesterday. There would be no deaths today, he would make sure of it. 

“Day two.” Haechan said as he sat down at the table. “What do we start with now?”

“First of all.” He started off. “I want to find Mark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh worm?


End file.
